Fran walked up to the old man and the frantic woman. The old man surveyed him with indifference while the woman examined him inquisitively, an eager smile in her mouth.

Five people timidly joined him. Three women and a man. Their facial expressions covered the spectrum from feigned nonchalance to genuine terror.

The woman softened her smile and spoke in a nice tone completely unlike her previous persona.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome you today. All of you have been in contact with a New Alliance member in Mela. That was not a coincidence. The newbie compass is one of the many unique discoveries made by our members. I cannot reveal whether it's a device, a spell or a skill, but I can tell you this: Our people discovered it. We found you, and we generously guided you here today. Your shock must be all-consuming, right? I see two of you are older. Do you have families? Imagine dying in your sleep, knowing that your sons and daughters will never learn the truth of the last weeks of your life? We’re the only ones that understand how you feel, because that’s how we feel too. It's really dangerous out here, you just heard about the killer in Germany. The only option, for our protection and everybody else's, is to place demands on those who can't wait a damn minute to join the Alliance, the New Alliance, excuse me, because it's safe, it's the future, and it's cool as fuck. Is that you? Cause it's time to decide. Join us and leave fear behind.” She made solid eye contact with the group in front of her. Everyone understood that her question didn't require an answer.

The older man had stood silently next to her colleague, but he now pointed at someone.

“Clara, what's the first requirement?”

A young woman with long dark hair frowned at being called out. She'd been the one making faces when the presenting couple ranted against members living a cozy fantasy life.

“Personal data,” she said.

“Come on.”

Clara sighed.

“You need to hand out your personal data,” she continued. “Information including but not limited to your full name and address, National ID number, full names of relatives and your center of work or studies.”

“This is outrageous,” said a middle-aged man in a green hunting vest and a dark shirt.

The presenter pointed at a very young boy, a child almost, with a blonde mop of hair on his head. He nodded calmly when he received the signal. His voice was sharp and self-assured, his eyes chillingly devoid of innocence. Fran wondered what this poor kid had been through.

“Phone number and email address. Social media accounts. Credit card information. Passwords.”

“Very good, Lucas, thank you. Bertrán, let's hear you for the third requirement.”

The strongman bobbled his head and spoke with a kind, empathetic tone.

“An oath of obedience to the New Alliance, its Inner Ring and its founders. The oath applies in Terra exactly as it does in Mela, no changes, no exceptions.”

He turned to the new members and continued. Fran noticed the man's absolute belief in every word he said.

“The Melan Quest spills into real life too. Sometimes, the New Alliance needs help in our little blue ball too. If The Inner Ring calls, you drop everything and help. You comply.”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“What do you mean everything?” asked the man in the green vest.

“This is a cult,” said the buff guy in Oakley glasses next to him. His amused expression reeked of desperation.

Fran could relate, but he wasn't getting cult vibes from the crowd. Even a true believer like the behemoth seemed normal. The screaming presenter too. Quirky, sure. Unique, if we're being polite. An absolute fucking freak, but not a brainwashed cult member.

“You're signing your death sentence if you go solo,” the female presenter said. She'd switched to a stern, disapproving look again. “The New Alliance is life! Come on, newbies, say it with me, get it into your heads, get the tattoo. The New Alliance! Is! Life!”

One of the women next to Fran looked at him with tears in her eyes. She shook her head in disbelief.

“Oh, God, how did we end up in this hell?” she pointed to the man in the vest “You must be having a lot of fun to question these people. I don't have any options. Oh, God.”

Fran approached the weeping woman.

“Let's not rush into anything,” he told her, but she shook her head with more determination.

“I wasn't welcomed by the New Alliance when I first dreamed two weeks ago. An ogre found me instead, a green beast with sweaty hands. Huge, cruel and reeking of evil. Broken yellow fangs stuck out of his mouth when he laughed at me.”

“My dream started in a marsh full of zombies,” the man in the vest said, his eyes absent. “And that's where I remain after a week. I evade the zombies, drink foul water and eat plants that might poison me. After a few days, a cleric from the New Alliance found me and pushed the zombies back with his spells. I should have known something was wrong when he wouldn't meet my eye. He gave me some food, shared as little information as possible about how to get here and fled in his flatboat. I desperately tried holding on to the boat, and the cleric, such a man of God, produced a mace and hit me in my hands. My fingers bled but they wouldn't let go, so he cast one of his divine spells and an electric shock made me scream in agony and fall headfirst into the putrid waters. His parting words still ring in my ears. “Ungrateful bastard, I risked my life to get here. Have you considered that? The true rescue will arrive when you're initiated into the New Alliance.”

The woman's hands shook visibly. She continued her story.

“The ogre tied me up in a coarse rope and made me walk barefoot through plains full of roots and spiny bushes. He yelled and choked me if I slowed him down. After four days, we arrived at a sinister gothic castle decorated with gargoyles and dark as the night. The cold air made me shiver. We approached, and the gargoyles took off toward us. The ogre let them know the purpose of his visit: Selling a human slave to the Most Ancient And Exultant Vampiric Lord and Castellan. He sold me as a slave! To a fucking vampire! A bloodsucker! The New Alliance bribed a mutated human servant, a heap of pustules and scars, to tell me how to reach out to them here on Earth. A fucking vampire. There's a whole kingdom of them, and they run out of humans so fast. You know why? They can't control themselves.”

Fran nodded. He would have liked to say something, but what?

“And I can't even tell my husband!” the woman continued. “Tell me, what would you do in my situation? I have to join the New Alliance or they'll bleed me to death! And today I come here to hear about the lazy cottagecore life. Are you people for real? They'll sink their fangs into my neck and bleed me to death!”

“You're in a very difficult situation,” the man said. “I'd understand if you joined but I have my pride, and my pride keeps reminding of the pain when the cleric’s mace hit my fingers and of the electrical shock jolting my body. I can't give in to these opportunistic bastards. You, tell us, why does this woman have to sign her life over to get rescued from a vampire castle? She's a human being.”

“You can rescue her yourself when you get out of the marsh,” the older presenter said. He wasn't alone in his indifference. Nobody in the room was batting an eye. The presenter continued to speak in a flat tone.

“The New Alliance is life, and it's open to everyone. What else do you want? A paladin, riding to save the princess from the vampire castle, and then a quick stopover at the zombie marsh to give you a ride? We're way too generous and we've paid a price for it. You newcomers know nothing of us, but that won’t stop you from demanding we risk our lives for you. In exchange for nothing, of course. We wouldn't want to impose ourselves on your lives, here or in Mela, right? We’ve seen this before. Every batch of newbies includes a couple of entitled nobodies. But it's every single newbie this time. It must be the last Friday special. Well, here’s something you need to know: I couldn’t care less.”

“We don't care!” screamed the woman making a kung fu pose.

“It's time to choose.”

“Decide, nobodies!”

The words came out of Fran's mouth loud and clear.

“That's a good idea, rescuing her ourselves. We will form our own alliance.”